The Otautau Rugby Club is the third oldest club in Southland behind Riverton and Invercargill Blues.
The Otautau senior team has now been combined with Ohai Nightcaps for seven consecutive years. Home games and trainings are shared equally, while the two clubs have 10 primary grade teams between them.
Otautau had more than 430 people registered to attend the jubilee celebrations last year. Rugby was played by Otautau’s first ever women’s team, the junior teams and two veterans teams as well as the senior match against Waiau Star.
This year, the senior team is coached by Tim White and Trevor Dyer.
Young utility backs Blake Adams and Ryan Egan are both performing well again this season.
After preseason games against their friends Waiau Star and Te Anau, the Otautau Ohai Nightcaps boys opened their season in front of a healthy-sized crowd at Otautau.
The local boys put in some powerful tackles but lost 19-16 to Mossburn. The best on show for OON was prop Zacson Murray. Fullback Ben Mathieson and hooker John Taufaalili also did their bit.
The following week the team earned a 43-7 win in summer-like conditions down at Wrights Bush. The standout player was hooker John Taufaalili who scored two of the seven tries. No 8 Dudin and lock Oostveen also impressed. Halfback Liam King scored three tries.
The combined team earned a 20-nil win over Waiau Star on Anzac Day but the following week the boys were unlucky to lose 43-36 to Wakatipu B in Frankton.
Lachlan Dudin scored two of the team’s five tries in a man of the match performance. Logan Stearne also worked hard.
Loose forward Matt Thomson played his 50th game to join Justin Oostveen, Chance Carran, Liam King, Dean Hays and Logan Stearne who previously reached that same personal milestone for the joint venture.
The boys scored some fine long range tries in Te Anau when winning 37-15. Man of the match Ryan Egan dotted down three times in a standout performance. Left wing Adams and Oostveen also played well on the firm track.
The results of OON in the first five games were good enough to keep them in division two for the next phase of the competition which begins this weekend against Mossburn.
By John Langford
